This invention relates to a pulley apparatus adapted to redirect a horizontally applied force into a vertical lifting motion, and more particularly to a pulley apparatus of said adaptation which provides the combined functions of supporting and lifting an elongated foldable structure.
Space divider curtains fabricated of textile or film materials are commonly utilized to divide a large area such as a gymnasium into smaller separate areas. Such curtains are generally hung from ceilings or ceiling support beams, and extend to the floor. In the fully deployed, extended condition, the curtain forms a flexible wall-like barrier which provides visual separation, and serves to confine player-occupants and their equipment such as bats, balls, mats and other items commonly used in a gymnasium.
One manner of storage and deployment of such curtains has involved overhead suspensions or tracks which permits the curtain to be drawn in the horizontal direction so that the gathered curtain, containing vertical folds, can be stored against a wall of the room. Such manner of storage, however, occupies a certain amount of floor space, and could interfere with activities requiring the use of said space or adjoining areas.
Another mode of deployment and storage of a space divider curtain involves a lifting system wherein the curtain is gathered in horizontal folds and drawn to the ceiling. Such ceiling storage does not occupy floor space or interfere with gymnasium activities. Although the ceiling system of curtain storage has its advantages, installation is more difficult than in the case of horizontally drawn, wall-stored curtains.
A ceiling-stored curtain system requires means for attaching the top of the curtain to the ceiling, means such as cables attached at the bottom of the curtain for lifting, guide means such as grommets associated with the curtain to insure proper folding, and a winding mechanism such as a winch device which is preferably motor driven. Because of the generally large size of space divider curtains, a multitude of lifting cables, suitably spaced along the curtain are usually required. This necessitates an equal number of ceiling-mounted fittings to accomodate the cables, and guide means to prevent entanglement of the cables en route to the winding mechanism.
Prior methods of installation of vertically lifted curtains have involved the use of hooks in a ceiling or ceiling beam to support the top of the curtain, additional hooks to mount pulley wheels which accomodate the lifting cables, and separate guides to prevent entanglement of the cables. The use of separate support hooks for the curtain and the pulleys has been necessitated by the fact that the top portion of the curtain would interfere with the lifting of the bottom portion if the top is positioned in the same vertical line followed by the bottom portion in its upward travel. Provision of a separation between the means for holding the top of the curtain and the means for lifting the bottom of the curtain is particularly necessary in the case where both the top edge and the bottom edge of the curtain are wrapped around a pipe or comparable elongated rigid structure which maintains the straightness of the curtain edge.
It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for simplifying the installation and operation of a vertically lifted curtain. It is another object to provide a specialized pulley apparatus useful in achieving several functions in the installation and operation of a vertically lifted curtain. It is a still further object of this invention to provide a system comprised of a number of multifunctional pulley devices adapted to work in unison to raise a foldable curtain. Other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter.